Indeed. The distance by rail is a bit over 100 km. Not sure how much by air. But at over 100 km, the curvature of Earth will block away the first few hundred metres of buildings, and the spires will look rather thin and inconspicuous so far.

But Hong Kong is less than 30 km away. The mountains of Kowloon rise over 900 m.

From the mountaintops of Kowloon, is it possible to see the skyline of Shenzhen beyond the bay, in the foreground, and the Pearl River delta including Canton Tower beyond?

Where in this exact skyline will the Pingan IFC be?
It will definately dominate the skyline no matter where it is.

Indeed it will stand out too much in the skyline. A bit like the Taipei 101 effect.

Can you see the big telecom emission tower on the mountain in the background? From this angle, Ping An will pretty much be directly underneath that telecom tower, possibly even blocking it from our view.

Indeed it will stand out too much in the skyline. A bit like the Taipei 101 effect.

Can you see the big telecom emission tower on the mountain in the background? From this angle, Ping An will pretty much be directly underneath that telecom tower, possibly even blocking it from our view.

Well at least it won't be right in that dip to the left, and I'm pretty sure the "change in cladding" is a death knell for the gold we were all hoping for. The next announcement will be a height cutback. I'm guessing it'll end up under 2000 feet unless they make up for it by simply lengthening the spire.

I bet that very soon the remaining dirt in the pit will be removed and the foundation will be revealed right underneath. Hopefully there will be some progress soon. In addition, I don't care if they change to coloring of the cladding but I want the height to stay the same!

I really hope it keeps both. If it's really brilliant gold like it shows it will really stand out among skyscrapers. Also if it stays well above 2000 feet so you can say it's two supertalls stacked on top of each other!

And I'm sure the foundation is very sturdy. It's not just the circle part, it's the whole surrounding area as well. Both towers will also be pretty much connected at the base. Somebody at the Shanghai Tower thread was wondering the same thing. They were asking why they were excavating around the hole.

It's the piling directly under the structure that will transfer the load down to the bedrock (in this case).
The lower levels are not part of the foundation. It's the piles and the raft that ties them together that supports the structure. Lower levels aren't even needed.

As I posted a page or two ago (and in agreement with Blue) they will either:
- dig further and expose the pile caps
or
- walk piling rigs down there, do the piling, then dig.

Since the latest word is raft pouring in July they have time to do the piling if nec. - if they get after it. It makes more sense they did all the piling for the main structures and podium at the same time some months ago, though.

No need for any height reduction unless it's a financial decision IMO.

Ray.

__________________Burj Khalifa - The Greatest Structure of our Time !!

At 2000 feet and with a square design I'm pretty sure that the lower levels and the below grade area around the circle part will indeed be helping and necessary to support this tower. Not in weight but in sturdiness against wind and such.

At 2000 feet and with a square design I'm pretty sure that the lower levels and the below grade area around the circle part will indeed be helping and necessary to support this tower. Not in weight but in sturdiness against wind and such.

If that is the case, they would've been better to fill the whole area in with concrete.........or just leave it as hard packed earth in the first place.